Image processing apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

In a client machine that collects first data that is operation information of an apparatus and second data related to a use situation of a plurality of pieces of hardware including a processor, a memory, and a storage, control is performed so that, in a case where the client machine is in a power-saving state at a timing when data that is collected in the apparatus is transmitted to an external system, recovery from the power-saving state is performed and transmission of the first data is not restricted, and transmission of the second data is restricted, and in a case where the client machine is not in the power-saving state at the timing, the transmission of the first data and the transmission of the second data are not restricted.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates to a technique by which data that iscollected in an apparatus is transmitted to an external system.

Description of the Related Art

For a purpose of performing quick maintenance and improving a sign andprediction and a function installed in an apparatus, a system in whichvarious event logs are transmitted to an event log administration serverthrough the Internet from an apparatus in operation has been known. Forexample, among image processing apparatuses such as an MFP(Multifunction Peripheral) and a printer, there is an image processingapparatus that transmits operation information (a counter, an error, ajob log, or the like) to an external system under a condition of aschedule, an occurrence timing, or the like.

Note that, a technique by which, in a case where an apparatus is in apower-saving state, the apparatus is controlled not to transmit data toan event log administration server has been known. Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 2014-050976 discloses that a data transmission stop timezone is designated and an apparatus is woke up from the power-savingstate (i.e. a sleep mode) at an end time of the transmission stop timezone.

SUMMARY

However, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, it hasnow been determined that in a case where, as in a conventional case,control is performed so that data is not transmitted when the apparatusis in the power-saving state, though power consumption is able to besuppressed, data transmission of which is put off due to thepower-saving state is not able to be acquired for a long time andvarious maintenance operations, improvement, and other processing may bethus hindered. For example, such an apparatus which performs charging toa user in accordance with a usage amount of the apparatus is required tobe recovered even in the power-saving state and periodically transmit anevent log.

In such a manner, the apparatus is required to appropriately performcontrol in accordance with a type of an event log to be periodicallytransmitted, but such control is difficult to be appropriately performedin the related art.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an imageprocessing apparatus includes a storage, a transmitter, at least onememory storing instructions, and at least one processor. The at leastone processor executes the instructions to cause the image processingapparatus to manage a timing when data that is collected in the imageprocessing apparatus is to be transmitted to an external system,transmit first data that is collected as operation information of theimage processing apparatus and second data that is collected as a usesituation of a plurality of pieces of hardware in the image processingapparatus to the external system through the transmitter in a case wherea state of the image processing apparatus is not a power-saving state atthe timing that is managed, and restrict transmission of the second datathrough the transmitter and transmit the first data to the externalsystem through the transmitter in a case where the state of the imageprocessing apparatus is the power-saving state at the timing that ismanaged.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a configuration of an entiresystem of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an administration server.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a client machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing controller unit of the clientmachine.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of software, which illustrates an example of asoftware configuration of the client machine.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of event information that isnormalized and saved in a message buffer.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating another example of the event informationthat is normalized and saved in the message buffer.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processingwhich is performed when the event collection unit is initialized.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts each illustrating an example of a flow ofprocessing which is performed when a periodic collection event iscollected.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in a firstembodiment, which is performed by the event collection unit in responseto recovery of the client machine from a power-saving state.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in a secondembodiment, which is performed by an event collection unit in responseto recovery of a client machine from a power-saving state.

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an example of event information to benormalized and collected at a time of recovery from a power-saving statein a third embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a configuration of an entiresystem of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an administration server 110 and a pluralityof client machines 120 (120 a, . . . , 120 b) are connected to a network100.

Each of the client machines 120 has a communication function ofnotifying the administration server 110 of an event in the equipment ina form of a history event. Moreover, the administration server 110 has afunction of saving events that are notified from the plurality of clientmachines 120 in a storage in the administration server 110. Informationaccumulated in the storage is used for, for example, analyzing operationmonitoring information.

In the present embodiment, the administration server 110 is achieved bya general information processing apparatus, such as a computer, which iscapable of having a data storage function, an information processingcalculation function, and a network communication function, or a cloudservice having the same functions.

Moreover, description will be given by taking an image processingapparatus such as a multifunction peripheral achieving various types offunctions of, for example, copying, printing, faxing, and the like as anexample of the client machine 120. In addition to an execution historyof such a function, the client machine 120 has a function of notifyingthe administration server 110 of, for example, a history of transitionto a power-saving state or wake-up therefrom, a history of transition toan abnormal state such as error occurrence or recovery therefrom, or thelike.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ina case where the administration server 110 is achieved by a generalinformation processing apparatus such as a computer.

The administration server 110 includes a controller unit 200, anoperation unit 209, and a display unit 210.

The controller unit 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201.

The CPU 201 starts up an OS (Operating System) by a boot program savedin a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202. The CPU 201 executes an applicationprogram saved in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 204 on the OS to executevarious kinds of processing. As a work area of the CPU 201, a RAM(Random Access Memory) 203 is used. The application program and datarelated to setting, a history, and the like are saved in the HDD 204.Note that, a configuration in which another storage device such as anSSD (Solid State Drive) is included instead of or in combination withthe HDD 204 may be provided.

An operation unit I/F 205, a display unit I/F 206, and a network 207 areconnected to the CPU 201 together with the ROM 202 and the RAM 203 via asystem bus 208.

The operation unit I/F 205 is an interface with the operation unit 209that is constituted by a mouse, a keyboard, or the like, and transmits,to the CPU 201, information input by a user with use of the operationunit 209.

The display unit I/F 206 outputs image data, which is to be displayed onthe display unit 210 that is constituted by a display or the like, tothe display unit 210.

The network 207 is connected to the network 100 and input/output ofinformation with respect to each apparatus on the network 100 isperformed through the network 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the client machine 120.

The client machine 120 is a multifunction peripheral that includes aninformation processing controller unit 301, a printer controller unit302, a scanner controller unit 303, a printer 304, a scanner 305, and anoperation unit 306.

The information processing controller unit 301 is a controller tointegrate control of information processing related to an operation ofthe client machine 120, and the operation unit 306 is connected thereto.Furthermore, the printer controller unit 302 which controls the printer304 that is an image output device and the scanner controller unit 303which controls the scanner 305 that is an image input device areconnected to the information processing controller unit 301.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the information processing controller unit 301.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the information processing controller unit 301includes a CPU 401. The CPU 401 is a processor that starts up an OS by aboot program saved in a ROM 402. The CPU 401 executes an applicationprogram saved in an HDD 404 on the OS to execute various kinds ofprocessing. As a work area of the CPU 401, a RAM 403 is used. The RAM403 is a memory, and provides the work area and an image memory area fortemporarily storing image data. The HDD 404 is a storage in which theapplication program, image data, various setting values, and a historyare saved. Note that, a configuration in which another storage devicesuch as an SSD is included instead of or in combination with the HDD 404may be provided.

An operation unit I/F 406, a device controller I/F 408, a network 405,an image processing unit 407, and a power supply management unit 409 areconnected to the CPU 401 together with the ROM 402 and the RAM 403 via asystem bus 410.

The operation unit I/F 406 is an interface with the operation unit 306that includes a touch panel, and outputs image data, which is to bedisplayed on the operation unit 306, to the operation unit 306.Moreover, the operation unit I/F 406 transmits, to the CPU 401,information input by the user with use of the operation unit 306.

The scanner controller unit 303 and the printer controller unit 302 areconnected to the device controller I/F 408. The device controller I/F408 performs conversion of synchronous data and asynchronous data ofimage data.

The network 405 is connected to the network 100 and input/output ofinformation with respect to each apparatus on the network 100 isperformed through the network 100.

The image processing unit 407 performs processing of outputting an imageto the printer 304, processing of inputting an image from the scanner305, and processing of image rotation, image compression, resolutionconversion, color space conversion, tone conversion, and the like. Thepower supply management unit 409 performs power supply control of entireequipment. For example, the power supply management unit 409 controlsshifting to the power-saving state (in which power consumption issmaller than that in a normal energized state) that is not the normalenergized state, changing from the power-saving state to the normalenergized state, etc., in addition to control of on/off of power supply.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of software, which illustrates an example of asoftware configuration of the client machine 120.

The software configuration illustrated in FIG. 5 is achieved when theCPU 401 executes a program stored in any one storage unit of the RAM403, the HDD 404, and the ROM 402. In a case where the client machine120 is an image processing apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral,software by which scanning, printing, or various functions that use anetwork, a memory, or the storage are achieved operates.

A user interface 501 has functions of displaying a screen, which is tobe operated by the user on the operation unit 306, and notifying thesoftware of movement of the user at a time of the operation by the user.

A plurality of functional applications 502 are provided in the equipmentand a functional application 502 is provided for each of applicationfunctions of, for example, copying, printing, mail transmission, and thelike. Each of the functional applications 502 causes the applicationfunction of the multifunction peripheral to operate, with an instructionof the user through the operation unit 306, data reception through thenetwork 405, or the like as a trigger.

On reception of an instruction from the functional application 502, ajob control unit 503 controls the printer controller unit 302 or thescanner controller unit 303 to execute scanning, printing, or the like.

A power supply control unit 504 controls the power supply managementunit 409 in association with a state of the software in the apparatusand administers transition between the normal energized state and thepower-saving state. Moreover, the power supply control unit 504 has atimer function of performing timer notification to any piece of softwarein the client machine 120 at a predetermined time. When a time at whichthe timer notification is desired to be received is previouslyregistered in the power supply control unit 504, the software in theclient machine 120 is able to perform necessary processing at thepredetermined time. Note that, the power supply control unit 504 has twotypes of timer functions of a normal timer function capable ofperforming the timer notification only in a case of the normal energizedstate and a power-saving recovery timer function capable of performingthe timer notification after shifting to the normal energized state evenin a case of the power-saving state.

On reception of notification about an abnormal state that occurs mainlyin the job control unit 503, the printer controller unit 302, thescanner controller unit 303, or the like, an error control unit 505performs control to stop the entire system or to instruct a degeneracyoperation.

A history/setting holding unit 506 manages nonvolatile information inthe equipment. The history/setting holding unit 506 holds settingnecessary for control of the multifunction peripheral or a job, andsummarizes and saves an operation history of the user, an executionresult of a job, occurrence of an error, or the like. Thehistory/setting holding unit 506 holds also log information left foranalyzing or debugging use when a failure of the system occurs. Notethat, an entity of the nonvolatile information is held in the HDD 404.

An information processing controller state management unit 507 manages astate of each of components of the CPU 401, the RAM 403, and the likethat are included in the information processing controller unit 301.Specifically, the information processing controller state managementunit 507 returns a usage amount or a usage rate of the CPU 401, RAM 403,or the HDD 404 or data related to a total writing amount or the like inthe HDD 404 in response to an acquisition request from another software.

An equipment usage amount management unit 508 has a function of holdinginformation about a usage amount of the client machine 120 by the user.Specifically, the number of sheets that are discharged by the clientmachine 120 through a print job or the like and an amount of a materialthat is consumed at a time of printing are considered as the informationabout the usage amount. However, the information about the usage amountis not limited thereto and may include any content as long as beinginformation necessary for grasping the usage amount of the clientmachine 120. In the present embodiment, the equipment usage amountmanagement unit 508 perpetuates such contents which are transmitted fromvarious pieces of software including the job control unit 503. By usingsuch information, it becomes possible to perform charging in accordancewith the usage amount of the client machine 120 by the user, forexample.

An event collection unit 510 monitors data generated by each of themodules (501 to 508) in the equipment and has a function of normalizingthe data in a form of an event and saving the resultant in a messagebuffer 520 for transmission to the administration server 110.

The message buffer 520 is a nonvolatile storage area that is achieved inthe HDD 404, and the normalized event and the like are saved therein. Inthe present embodiment, as a method of normalizing an event, a JSON(JavaScript® Object Notation) format is used, but there is no limitationthereto. In addition to basic information of an event name, anoccurrence time, and the like, various kinds of information areadditionally added to event information, in accordance with a type ofthe event. The event collection unit 510 acquires such additionalinformation from the information processing controller state managementunit 507, the equipment usage amount management unit 508, or the like. Aspecific example of the event information will be described later.

In response to issue of an event, for example, which is detected on thebasis of writing to the message buffer 520, an event transmission unit530 reads information from the message buffer 520 and transmits theevent to the administration server 110 through a network communicationunit 531.

The network communication unit 531 performs communication by using thenetwork 405.

Next, a management table of periodic collection data, which is used inthe present embodiment, will be described.

The management table of the periodic collection data is exemplified in atable 1.

In the present embodiment, it is set that data, which corresponds to themanagement table of the periodic collection data, is held in the HDD204, but, for example, equivalent data may be received from theadministration server 110 and processing may be performed on the basisof the data.

TABLE 1 Is periodic collection event event to be collected Collectioneven in power- Type of periodic collection event interval saving state?device_charge_counts_snapshotted 16 hours Yesinfo_controller_usage_snapshotted 24 hours No

As in the table 1, in the management table of periodic collection data,each of contents of events to be periodically collected is associatedwith “collection interval” and information of “is periodic collectionevent event to be collected even in power-saving state?”. The“collection interval” indicates a time interval at a time of performingperiodic collection. The information of “is periodic collection eventevent to be collected even in power-saving state?” indicates informationin accordance with which whether data collection is performed even in acase of the power-saving state when a time at which periodic collectionis to be performed comes is designated.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of event information that isnormalized and saved in the message buffer 520. Particularly, FIG. 6illustrates an example of operation information of the client machine120.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the event information isrepresented in the JSON format. The event information is configured sothat a type of an event (attribute of “event_type”) and a date and atime of occurrence of the event (attribute of “occur_datetime”) areadded and a specific content of the event that occurs (attribute of“attributes”) is included as needed. Moreover, it is also possible toadd additional information (attribute of “additional_info”) related tothe event to the event information.

The example of FIG. 6 is the event information indicating that usageamount snapshot information of the equipment that is related to chargingis collected, and an attribute of “device_charge_counts_snapshotted”indicates that the event information is related to collection of theusage amount snapshot information. The number of sheets that are printedin monochrome or color (attribute of “mono_output_papers”, attribute of“color_output_papers”) and the total number of discharged sheets(attribute of “total_output_papers”) are recorded in the eventinformation as the additional information.

Note that, according to the management table indicated by the table 1,the data collection is performed for the data of FIG. 6 once every 16hours. Moreover, the data of FIG. 6 corresponds to an event to becollected even in a case where the client machine 120 is in thepower-saving state when the time for performing the data collectioncomes. In detail, the client machine 120 wakes up from the power-savingstate and the data collection is performed by the client machine 120which is in the normal energized state.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating another example of the event informationthat is normalized and saved in the message buffer 520. Particularly,FIG. 7 illustrates an example of information about a use situation of aplurality of pieces of hardware which includes a processor, a memory,and a storage of the client machine 120.

The example of FIG. 7 is the event information about collection of usageamount snapshot information of the information processing controllerunit 301, and an attribute of “info_controller_usage_snapshotted”indicates that the event information is related to collection of theusage amount snapshot information. In the event information, datarelated to a usage amount of the CPU 401, a usage amount of the RAM 403,and a usage amount of the HDD 404 (attributes of “average_usage_rate”,attributes of “peek_usage_rate”) are respectively recorded in anattribute of “CPU_usage”, an attribute of “RAM_usage”, and an attributeof “HDD_usage” as the additional information. Additionally, since theHDD 404 is consumed by access to data, so that a current lifetime(attribute of “device_life_rate”) when a predicted lifetime is set as100% is described in the attribute of “HDD_usage” as data related to thelifetime of the HDD 404. In the example of FIG. 7, the HDD 404 consumes8% of the predicted lifetime. Note that, the data related to thelifetime of the HDD 404 which is described in the attribute of“HDD_usage” may be data related to a writing amount or the number oftimes of writing of the HDD 404. Moreover, in a case where the storageis not the HDD 404 but an SSD, data related to a lifetime of the storagemay be data related to the number of times of rewriting of the SSD.

Note that, according to the management table indicated by the table 1,data collection is performed for the data of FIG. 7 once every 24 hours.Moreover, the data of FIG. 7 corresponds to an event that, in a casewhere the client machine 120 is in the power-saving state at a time whenthe data collection is to be performed, is not to be collected at thetime.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing inthe present embodiment, which is performed when the event collectionunit 510 is initialized. The processing corresponding to the flowchartis achieved in a case where the CPU 201 reads and executes a program,which is developed in the RAM 203, when the client machine 120 startsup.

When the processing corresponding to the flowchart starts, the eventcollection unit 510 acquires a current time at first (S801).

Next, the event collection unit 510 performs control to repeatsubsequent processing (S803 to S807) for the number of pieces ofperiodic collection data to be collected (S802). Specifically, bysequentially setting each of periodic collection events described inrows of the table 1 as an event that is a target to be processed, thefollowing processing at S803 to S807 is performed.

First, the event collection unit 510 decides a time at which theperiodic collection event that is the target to be processed iscollected next (S803). Specifically, the collection interval in themanagement table indicated by the table 1 is added to the current timeacquired at S801 described above. For example, when the current time is“15:21” and the collection interval is “16 hours”, the next collectiontime is “7:21”.

Next, the event collection unit 510 determines whether or not theperiodic collection event that is the target to be processed is an eventto be collected even in the power-saving state (S804). Specifically,whether an item at the third column in the management table indicated bythe table 1 is “Yes” or “No” is checked.

When the event collection unit 510 judges that the periodic collectionevent that is the target to be processed is the event to be collectedeven in a case where the client machine 120 is in the power-saving state(the item at the third column in the table 1 is “Yes”) (in a case of Yesat S804), the processing proceeds to S806.

At S806, the event collection unit 510 registers the next collectiontime, which is decided at S803 described above, by using thepower-saving recovery timer of the power supply control unit 504, andthe processing proceeds to S807.

On the other hand, when the event collection unit 510 judges that theperiodic collection event that is the target to be processed is not theevent to be collected even in the case where the client machine 120 isin the power-saving state (the item at the third column in the table 1is “No”) (in a case of No at S804), the processing proceeds to S805.That is, in the case where the periodic collection event that is thetarget to be processed is an event that, when the client machine 120 isin the power-saving state, is not to be collected at a collection time,the procedure proceeds to S805.

At S805, the event collection unit 510 registers the next collectiontime, which is decided at S803 described above, by using the normaltimer of the power supply control unit 504, and the procedure proceedsto S807.

After registration in the timer is performed at S805 or S806, the eventcollection unit 510 performs the processing at S807. At S807, the eventcollection unit 510 holds a type of a periodic collection event, whichis a current target to be processed, and the next collection time, whichis decided at S803 described above, in an area of the RAM 403 that ismanaged by the event collection unit 510 in an associated manner,returns the processing to S802, and shifts the target to be processed toa next periodic collection event.

As above, in the client machine 120, control is performed so that atiming when data of the periodic collection event to be collected evenin the power-saving state is transmitted is managed by the power-savingrecovery timer. Moreover, control is performed so that a timing whendata of the periodic collection event not to be collected in thepower-saving state is transmitted is managed by the normal timer.Accordingly, a timing at which data is collected in the client machine120 and transmitted to the administration server 110 that is an externalsystem is able to be appropriately managed for each of the periodiccollection events.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts each illustrate an example of a flow ofprocessing in the present embodiment, which is performed when theperiodic collection event is collected. The processing corresponding tothe flowcharts is achieved when the CPU 201 reads and executes aprogram, which is developed in the RAM 203, when the client machine 120starts up.

First, description will be given for the flowchart of FIG. 9A.

At first, when the event collection unit 510 receives, from the powersupply control unit 504, notification that the timer in whichregistration has been performed in advance works (a date and a time thatare registered in the timer in advance comes) (S901), the procedureproceeds to S902. Note that, the timer corresponds to the timer in whichregistration is performed by the event collection unit 510 at S805 orS806 in the flowchart of FIG. 8.

At S902, the event collection unit 510 acquires a current time at first.Furthermore, at S903, the event collection unit 510 decides a content ofthe periodic collection event to be collected, on the basis of thecurrent time acquired at S902 described above. Specifically, the eventcollection unit 510 compares the next collection time and the type ofthe periodic collection event that are held in advance in the area ofthe RAM 403, which is managed by the event collection unit 510, at S807of FIG. 8 to the current time acquired at S902 described above, anddecides which periodic collection event described in the table 1 is tobe collected.

Next, the event collection unit 510 performs a series of processing ofevent transmission on the basis of the type of the periodic collectionevent that is decided at S903 described above and the current time(S904). Detailed description of processing at S904 will be given laterwith reference to FIG. 9B.

When the processing at S904 described above is completed, the eventcollection unit 510 holds the type of the event that is collected and atransmission completion time (final transmission time of the periodiccollection event that is the target to be processed) in an associatedmanner in a predetermined area of the RAM 403 (S905).

Finally, the event collection unit 510 registers a next collection timeand an appropriate timer for next acquisition of the event that istransmitted at S904 described above (S906). Since the processing issimilar to the processing at S803 to S807 of FIG. 8, redundantdescription thereof will be omitted.

Next, detailed description of the processing at S904 of FIG. 9A will begiven with reference to FIG. 9B. In accordance with the content of theevent that is received, the event collection unit 510 collects, fromeach module of the equipment, information which is previously associatedwith the content of the event that is received (S911). For example, in acase of the event of the usage amount snapshot information of theequipment that is related to charging and illustrated in FIG. 6, theevent collection unit 510 collects the number of various types ofdischarged sheets from the equipment usage amount management unit 508.Moreover, for example, in a case of the usage amount snapshotinformation of the information processing controller, which isillustrated in FIG. 7, the event collection unit 510 collectsinformation of, for example, usage rates of the CPU 401, the RAM 403,and the HDD 404 from the information processing controller statemanagement unit 507. In addition thereto, the event collection unit 510normalizes the information into a general-purpose format like theaforementioned JSON with use of given time information.

After that, the event collection unit 510 saves the normalized eventinformation in the message buffer 520 (S912). At this time point, acontent to be transmitted to the administration server 110 is fixed.

The event transmission unit 530 that asynchronously detects writing atS912 described above reads the event information from the message buffer520 (S913) and performs a transmission operation to the administrationserver 110 (S914). Here, the transmission operation that includes anauthentication operation to the administration server 110, retryprocessing when a communication error occurs, and the like is performedup to transmission completion. The administration server 110 to whichthe event information is transmitted saves the received eventinformation in the storage.

As above, various events that occur in the client machine 120 aretransmitted to the administration server 110 and collected at anappropriate timing.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in thefirst embodiment, which is performed by the event collection unit 510 inresponse to recovery of the client machine 120 from the power-savingstate. The processing corresponding to the flowchart is achieved whenthe CPU 201 reads and executes a program developed in the RAM 203.

First, the event collection unit 510 acquires a current time (S1001).

Next, the event collection unit 510 performs control to repeatsubsequent processing (S1003 to S1008) for the number of pieces ofperiodic collection data to be collected (S1002). Specifically, bysequentially setting each of periodic collection events described in thetable 1 as an event that is a target to be processed, the followingprocessing at S1003 to S1008 is performed.

First, the event collection unit 510 determines whether or not theperiodic collection event that is the target to be processed is an eventto be collected even in the power-saving state (S1003). Specifically,whether an item at the third column in the management table indicated bythe table 1 is “Yes” or “No” is checked.

When judging that the periodic collection event that is the target to beprocessed is the event to be collected even in the case where the clientmachine 120 is in the power-saving state (the item at the third columnin the table 1 is “Yes”) (in a case of Yes at S1003), the eventcollection unit 510 returns the processing to S1002 and performs controlto shift the target to be processed to a next periodic collection event.

On the other hand, when the event collection unit 510 judges that theperiodic collection event that is the target to be processed is not theevent to be collected even in the case where the client machine 120 isin the power-saving state (the item at the third column in the table 1is “No”) (in a case of No at S1003), the processing proceeds to S1004.That is, in a case where the periodic collection event that is thetarget to be processed is the event that, when the client machine 120 isin the power-saving state, is not to be collected at a collection time,the procedure proceeds to S1004.

At S1004, the event collection unit 510 acquires the final transmissiontime of the periodic collection event that is the target to beprocessed, which is held at S905 of FIG. 9A, and a transmissioninterval.

After that, the event collection unit 510 judges whether or not a timeobtained by adding the final transmission time and the transmissioninterval which are acquired at S1004 described above, that is, a nextperiodic collection time exceeds the current time which is acquired atS1001 described above (S1005).

Then, when judging that the next periodic collection time does notexceed the current time (in a case of No at S1005), the event collectionunit 510 returns the processing to S1002 and shifts the target to beprocessed to a next periodic collection event.

On the other hand, when judging that the next periodic collection timehas already exceeded the current time (in a case of Yes at S1005), theevent collection unit 510 advances the processing to S1006.

At S1006, the event collection unit 510 performs processing of eventtransmission similarly to S904 of FIG. 9A (that is, FIG. 9B).

Furthermore, the event collection unit 510 updates the finaltransmission time (S1007).

Moreover, the event collection unit 510 registers the timer for nextperiodic collection (S1008), returns the processing to S1002, and shiftsthe target to be processed to a next periodic collection event. Notethat, at S1008 described above, the normal timer of the power supplycontrol unit 504 is used.

As above, the client machine 120 has a configuration in which, inaccordance with a type of an event that is to be transmitted to theadministration server 110, the event is not transmitted in the casewhere the client machine 120 is in the power-saving state, and the eventis transmitted in the case where the client machine 120 is not in thepower-saving state. Accordingly, in an image processing apparatus, suchas the client machine 120, which transmits various events to an externalsystem such as the administration server 110, it is possible to suppressan increase in power consumption or prevent information with loweffectiveness from being transmitted. Accordingly, for an event log thatis periodically acquired, it is possible to perform appropriate datacollection in accordance with characteristics of the event log.

Thus, for information about data related to charging or the like, it ispossible to perform data collection after recovery from the power-savingstate, and, for data that is desired to be acquired while the equipmentoperates, it is possible to perform, without recovering from thepower-saving state, data collection at a different timing, such as atime of recovering from the power-saving state. Accordingly, there is anadvantage that it is possible to improve power-saving performance ofequipment and suppress transmission of data with low effectiveness to anadministration server.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the configuration in which whether to performdata collection by recovering from the power-saving state is able to beswitched in accordance with a type of a periodic collection event to becollected has been described. Additionally, description that, for aperiodic collection event that does not cause recovery from thepower-saving state, data collection is performed, for example, at a timeof recovery from the power-saving state and accordingly there is theadvantage that it is possible to improve power-saving performance of theequipment and suppress transmission of data with low effectiveness tothe administration server is given. In the first embodiment, it isdescribed that, for important information such as data related tocharging, data collection is performed by recovering from thepower-saving state. Even in this situation, since the recovery from thepower-saving state is performed, periodic event collection processingillustrated in FIG. 10 is performed. However, in this situation, sinceany operation instruction such as a print instruction is not receivedfrom a user for operating, effectiveness of collecting an operationsituation of the equipment at this time point may be considered to below. An embodiment for coping with such a case will be described below.

Hereinafter, processing at a time of recovery from the power-savingstate in a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.11.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing in thesecond embodiment, which is performed by the event collection unit 510in response to recovery of the client machine 120 from the power-savingstate. The processing corresponding to the flowchart is achieved whenthe CPU 201 reads and executes a program developed in the RAM 203.

Note that, FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. 10 in the first embodiment.

First, when detecting the recovery from the power-saving state, theevent collection unit 510 checks what factor causes the recovery fromthe power-saving state (S1101). Specifically, the event collection unit510 inquires, of the power supply control unit 504, the factor of therecovery from the power-saving state.

Then, in a case of judging that the recovery from the power-saving stateis performed on the basis of any instruction, such as a printinstruction, from the user (user instruction) (in a case of a “userinstruction” at S1101), the event collection unit 510 performsprocessing at S1102 to S1109. Note that, the processing at S1102 toS1109 is similar to the processing at S1001 to S1008 of FIG. 10, andcollection of the periodic collection event to be collected during thepower-saving state is performed as needed.

On the other hand, in a case of judging that the recovery from thepower-saving state is performed for collection of the periodiccollection event (in a case of “for collection of periodic collectionevent” at S1101), the event collection unit 510 ends the processing ofthe flowchart.

As above, a configuration is provided so that an operation situation ofequipment is not collected in a case where, at the time of the recoveryfrom the power-saving state, it is determined that a situation in whichdata collection is not effective is provided as in the case whererecovery from the power-saving state is performed for collection of theperiodic collection event. Accordingly, it is possible to suppresstransmission of data with low effectiveness to the administration server110.

Third Embodiment

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, it isindicated that, for the periodic collection event, such as the usageamount snapshot information of the information processing controllerunit 301, which does not cause the recovery from the power-saving state,whether or not to perform data collection at a timing of the recoveryfrom the power-saving state is determined and data collection isaccordingly able to be appropriately performed.

Now, there is a case where data with a different level of importance ismixed in a single event such as the usage amount snapshot information ofthe information processing controller unit 301. In such a case,considered is a case where changing, depending on a collection timing, acontent of data to be collected is effective. In the present embodiment,processing in such a case will be described.

As the aforementioned usage amount snapshot information of theinformation processing controller unit 301, data transmission of whichdoes not make much sense when the transmission is performed in a statethat is not a state where the apparatus ordinarily operates, forexample, immediately after the recovery from the power-saving state maybe included in data to be periodically transmitted.

For example, in a case of the usage amount snapshot information of theinformation processing controller unit 301, a CPU usage rate and amemory usage amount are much affected by a state of the equipment.Additionally, at the time of the power-saving recovery, various kinds ofspecial processing that are not performed in a normal state areperformed. Thus, it is considered that transmission of data of the CPUusage rate and the memory usage amount to the administration server 110immediately after the power-saving recovery does not make much sense. Onthe other hand, the storage is a nonvolatile device and is not muchaffected even by processing of the power-saving recovery. Thus, it isconsidered that transmission of a storage usage amount to theadministration server 110 at the time of the power-saving recovery has acertain meaning.

Then, for example, in a case where a timing when usage amount snapshotinformation of the information processing controller is periodicallycollected comes in the normal energized state, data related to the CPUusage rate, the memory usage amount, and the storage usage amount istransmitted. On the other hand, it is configured so that, in a casewhere the timing when the usage amount snapshot information of theinformation processing controller is periodically collected comes in thepower-saving state, at the time of the recovery from the power-savingstate thereafter, only information about the storage usage amount istransmitted. Hereinafter, detailed description will be given.

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an example of event information to becollected (to be collected at S1006 of FIG. 10 or S1107 of FIG. 11) atthe time of the recovery from the power-saving state in a thirdembodiment.

The event information is event information about collection of the usageamount snapshot information of the information processing controllerunit 301 similarly to FIG. 7, and an attribute of“info_controller_usage_snapshotted” indicates that the event informationis related to collection of the usage amount snapshot information. Notethat, the following point is different from that of FIG. 7.

In the example of the event illustrated in FIG. 7, the data related tothe usage amounts of the CPU 401, the RAM 403, and the HDD 404 isincluded, but only the usage amount of the HDD 404 (attribute of“HDD_usage”) is described here as the additional information.Furthermore, as the information of the usage amount of the HDD 404, onlyinformation about the lifetime of the HDD 404 (attribute of“device_life_rate”) is described.

This is because the information about the lifetime of the HDD 404 isimportant information for using the equipment. For example, in a casewhere the attribute of “device_life_rate” is “100”, it is indicated thatthe lifetime of the HDD 404 has reached the end of a predicted lifetimewhich is assumed at a time of manufacturing the HDD 404. Thus, there isa possibility that, when continuing to be used without being replaced,the HDD 404 becomes unusable because of expiration of the lifetime.Moreover, the lifetime of the HDD 404 is generally set to be severalyears in many cases, so that it is assumed that effectiveness of thedata is not changed even in a case where an acquisition timing changesby about several hours to several days. Thus, there is no problem evenwhen a periodic collection event of the information about the lifetimeof the HDD 404 is set as the periodic collection event that does notcauses the recovery from the power-saving state. However, since theinformation about the lifetime of the HDD 404 is important information,transmission thereof is performed at the time of the recovery from thepower-saving state.

In the present embodiment, for example, in the case where the timingwhen the usage amount snapshot information of the information processingcontroller is periodically collected comes in the normal energizedstate, the data related to the usage amounts of the CPU 401, the RAM403, and the HDD 404 is collected and transmitted as the additionalinformation as illustrated in FIG. 7. On the other hand, in the casewhere the timing when the usage amount snapshot information of theinformation processing controller is periodically collected comes in thepower-saving state, at the time of the recovery from the power-savingstate thereafter, only the information (attribute of “device_life_rate”)about the lifetime of the HDD 404, which is the information of the usageamount of the HDD 404, is collected and transmitted as the additionalinformation as illustrated in FIG. 12.

Note that, in the event information illustrated in FIG. 12, in order toallow determination that only partial information is acquired at thetime of the recovery from the power-saving state, information (attributeof “snapshotted_on_wake_up”) indicating that the information is acquiredat the time of the recovery from the power-saving state is added. Withsuch a configuration, also in the administration server 110, by checkingonly presence or absence of the attribute of “snapshotted_on_wake_up”,it is possible to easily check what content of information is included.

As above, according to the present embodiment, by appropriately changinga content of data to be transmitted in accordance with a collectiontiming, it is possible to suppress transmission of data with loweffectiveness to the administration server 110.

As above, each of the embodiments has a configuration in which, inaccordance with a type of an event to be transmitted to an externalsystem (administration server 110), transmission of the event isrestricted in a case where an image processing apparatus (client machine120) is in a power-saving state, and the transmission of the event isperformed in a case where the image processing apparatus is not in thepower-saving state. With the configuration, in the image processingapparatus that transmits various events to the external system, it ispossible to collect and transmit appropriate data in accordance withcharacteristics of an event log that is periodically collected andtransmitted, and it is possible to suppress an increase in powerconsumption and suppress transmission of information with loweffectiveness.

Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately transmit data, which iscollected in the apparatus, to the external system in accordance withcharacteristics of the data while suppressing an increase in powerconsumption, thus making it possible to appropriately perform variousmaintenance operations, improvement, and other processing. Thus, itbecomes possible to appropriately manage the image processing apparatus.

Note that, the configurations of the various pieces of data and thecontent thereof, which are described above, are not limited thereto, andneedless to say, a configuration is provided with various configurationsand contents in accordance with a use or a purpose.

As above, though certain embodiments have been described, the presentdisclosure may be embodied as a mode of, for example, a system, anapparatus, a method, a program, a storage medium, or the like.Specifically, the present disclosure may be applied to a systemconstituted by a plurality of pieces of equipment, or, may be applied toan apparatus constituted by one piece of equipment.

Moreover, all configurations achieved by combining the aforementionedembodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the scope of thepresent disclosure is not limited to the particular disclosed exemplaryembodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded thebroadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications andequivalent structures and functions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2019-054262 filed Mar. 22, 2019, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image processing apparatus comprising: astorage; a transmitter; at least one memory storing instructions; and atleast one processor that executes the instructions to cause the imageprocessing apparatus to: manage a timing when data that is collected inthe image processing apparatus is to be transmitted to an externalsystem; transmit first data that is collected as operation informationof the image processing apparatus and second data that is collected as ause situation of a plurality of pieces of hardware in the imageprocessing apparatus to the external system through the transmitter in acase where a state of the image processing apparatus is not apower-saving state at the timing that is managed; and restricttransmission of the second data through the transmitter and transmit thefirst data to the external system through the transmitter in a casewhere the state of the image processing apparatus is the power-savingstate at the timing that is managed.
 2. The image processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein execution of the instructions furthercauses the image processing apparatus to: perform registrationprocessing by using, among a first timer by which notification based ontime measurement is able to be performed even in the power-saving stateand a second timer by which the notification is not performed in thepower-saving state, the first timer, in a case where the first data isset as a target to be transmitted to the external system; and wherein,in the case where the state of the image processing apparatus is thepower-saving state at the timing that is managed, the image processingapparatus is recovered from the power-saving state in response to thenotification from the first timer, so that the first data is transmittedto the external system through the transmitter at the timing that ismanaged.
 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the image processingapparatus to: transmit at least partial data of the second data to theexternal system through the transmitter at a time when the imageprocessing apparatus is recovered from the power-saving state, in a casewhere a transmission timing of the second data is passed during thepower-saving state.
 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim3, wherein at least the partial data of the second data is data relatedto a lifetime of the storage.
 5. The image processing apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein the data related to the lifetime of thestorage is a writing amount of the storage or the number of times ofwriting.
 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, whereinin a case where a factor that causes the image processing apparatus tobe recovered from the power-saving state is a transmission timing of thefirst data, the transmission of the second data through the transmitteris restricted.
 7. A method for an image processing apparatus having astorage and a transmitter, the method comprising: managing a timing whendata that is collected in the image processing apparatus is to betransmitted to an external system; transmitting first data that iscollected as operation information of the image processing apparatus andsecond data that is collected as a use situation of a plurality ofpieces of hardware in the image processing apparatus to the externalsystem through the transmitter in a case where a state of the imageprocessing apparatus is not a power-saving state at the timing that ismanaged; and restricting transmission of the second data through thetransmitter and transmitting the first data to the external systemthrough the transmitter in a case where the state of the imageprocessing apparatus is the power-saving state at the timing that ismanaged.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer executable instructions stored thereon, wherein execution ofthe instructions by a computer causes an image processing apparatusincorporating the computer and having a storage and a transmitter to:manage a timing when data that is collected in the image processingapparatus is to be transmitted to an external system; transmit firstdata that is collected as operation information of the image processingapparatus and second data that is collected as a use situation of aplurality of pieces of hardware in the image processing apparatus to theexternal system through the transmitter in a case where a state of theimage processing apparatus is not a power-saving state at the timingthat is managed; and restrict transmission of the second data throughthe transmitter and transmit the first data to the external systemthrough the transmitter in a case where the state of the imageprocessing apparatus is the power-saving state at the timing that ismanaged.